Search This Blog

Subscribe to this blog

Follow by Email

Reseeds!

It might seem as if all my post titles of late end with an exclamation mark - but Reseeds! is actually a quote from the Annie's Annuals catalogue. And it's true - while there's a lot of to do about proprietary hybrics, Annie's will send you plants that reseed readily. With everyone loving the idea of growing plants from seed (or having plants that reseed without being aggressive, I thought I'd list my favorites here.

Above Phacelia tanacetifolia is quite possibly the most reliably reseeder I have. I started with a little packet of seeds, and now, when bloom time is over, I put the seedheads in a place where I want some plants - and in spring, they're back. Mind you, these plants have a pretty high germination rate, and I have a small jungle of Phacelia in the front garden. But there isn't a single plant in the neighbor's yard, so I consider this a winner.

Last year, I bought Layia platyglossa (Tidy tips) for the first time from Annie's and was very happy with those happy yellow faces and a fairly long bloom time. One plant of three reseeded, so I bought two new ones for this year. Not sure whether the very dry spring or the layer of mulch in the front garden is to blame.

Similarly OK, but not enough, is Clarkia cocinna "Pink Ribbons". A rare Clarkia that prefers part shade, this beautiful bloomer does well in a pot, and I got some second generation plants. But the first generation is more lush and I've ordered two new plants to supplement my volunteers.

Much more reliable are California poppies. They will come through for you even if you put down a decent layer of mulch. Frost sets them back for a bit, but they will rally and put on a show for weeks in April and May. Seeds are beloved by mourning doves, but there's more than enough to go around. Poppies might show up in unexpected places - I pull them when they show up in my front garden, or between the stepping stones. So, if you get poppies, get ready to murder some plants that show up where you don't want them.

Equally reliable and possibly even more showy is Clarkia amoena. I bought a packet of seeds 5 years ago, and have enjoyed an impressive show of blooms in late April and May every year. I pull everything out and leave seedheads in places where I want more plants. Clarkia amoena does fine with some mulch, and does not seem to travel.

A little more adventurous is Clarkia unguiculata (Elegant clarkia). I've seen it travel a few feet, then a few more feet, and I hesitate to pull them because they are so showy. Still, this is not an aggressive spreader and come July, she will be done for the year, and I can scatter the seeds, or not.

I've been a little less fortunate with five spot, baby blue-eyes, and 'Penny Black' three different flavors of Nemophilia. All delightful, five spot is the best reseeder but most of my baby plants got eaten this year (birds?). The baby blue-eyes that came up from seed are a little smaller than their parents, and seem to have a problem with mulch (though they like to come up in the gravel path). I have a few baby plants in puts, and I'm hoping they'll be ready in another week or two. But my story of growing plants from seed will have to wait for another post....

For now, I'm enjoying the bounty of spring and the surprises I find in the garden every day.

Similar results to what I have found. Tidy Tips didn't reseed well for me either. I think slugs get them, they come up and then disappear. Same with the Nemophilas, which never do well in my garden. Clarkias and of course Poppies reseed well for me, but the best is Meadowfooam, which has made nice big patches that stay in place and fill out reliably year after year. You might try a little patch of them somewhere next year.

I think I am going to come down on the Sunday for the tour, so I would be into that offer of a few garden recommendations.

Howdy! I live in Prunedale and have really sandy and gopher-ful soil. I've been trying to establish native wildflowers in my front yard for 2 years now. So far the only thing that has reseeded for me is a non-native toadflax. Gophers seem to get every single CA poppy that get established. I'm wondering if you have issues with gophers where you are and how sandy your soil is?

Popular Posts

I posted about how I backed into this hugely fun project here. In this post, I'll provide what advice I gleaned from the web, and show how I extended the dry creek across our south garden, to drain down into the chaparral slope.

I'm not done yet, but it's amazing how much you can do in a short time. Friends gave me all the river rocks - Yesterday, local friends offered me 4 bags of small pebbles which really helps vary the look - a mixture of small and medium river rocks are really required.

So, to get back to the beginning of this project. After I put a short creek for drainage in the succulent bed that is next to the house, I decided to continue it, and break up the south garden layout a new way -- nibbling into Experimental Bed #1 on the left, and rerouting the cross-wise path towards the right.

I played around with the hose quite a bit - and when I was digging out I made more adjustments. I made the river widen on the outer curves of a meander.

I've been busy starting seeds! October is a good time to start a lot of seeds, except for the winter dormant ones -- the ones you have to stick in the fridge three months to convince them winter is over! Those are better done in Feb-March. I'm so happy! Some are already germinating!

I'll write more informative posts about all the stuff I'm starting by and by. This is just a seed-fest!

With the exception of the pipe vine - all seeds are of local California natives that grow on our around our property on a ridge about 6 miles inland from Santa Cruz.

Check out seeds of Aristolochia californica, Dutchman's pipe vine, which I blogged about in my last post - bagging the seed pods worked out great!

Speaking of propagation, I wrote an article for the Sentinel about propagation, as in who propagates the plants for the sale, as publicity for the Santa Cruz County chapter of CNPS and the UC Santa Cruz arboretum fall plant sales, which were today!

Dec 30 2017 6:35 am SaturdayLife is like a leaking sieve, a fishing net with holes and, of course, a boat with growing leaks. Felt sad taking down that spicebush yesterday and still unsure whether such drastic action was warranted.

Sat and looked and poked and trimmed and then went aw F*** it.

Especially [felt ambivalent] since the shrub I was privileging over the spicebush is an ambiguous one, likely a seed of Dark Star ceanothus, that reverted to one or other, or "favored"--as in "he favors his mother's side"--one parent heritage over the other. Because of all its buds. Like being unable to not love the baby cuckoo. Ambiguous heritage. I felt damned if I did or didn't.